The present invention relates to a magnetic recording/reproducing device typified by the R-DAT system in which an audio analog signal is converted into a digital signal which is recorded on the inclined track-of a magnetic tape by a rotary head and, thereafter, reproduced and converted back into the audio analog signal which is then outputted.
The R-DAT system was recently standardized. Since the audio analog signal is converted into the digital signal to be recorded and reproduced in the R-DAT system. high-degree audio information can be enjoyed for a long period of time. A large number of tunes or programs can be recorded on a single magnetic tape in the R-DAT system. Code signals for the tunes or programs can be additionally recorded on the tape so that a desired tune can be freely selected from among the other tunes.
Each inclined track has a PCM (pulse code modulation) central area P, in which the digitized (pulse-code-modulated) audio signal is recorded, and two sub-code areas (S.sub.1 and S.sub.2) which are located before and behind the PCM area and in which sub-code signals are recorded.
In the standardization, a start identification signal, which is one of the controlling identification signals in the sub-code areas, is required to be 1 for a prescribed time (9 seconds or about 600 tracks) from the beginning or head of the tune or program and to be 0 thereafter in the tune.
In the standardization, a SC2 start flag signal, which is one of the optional code signals (ID-1=00) in the identification recording section (PCM-ID) of the PCM area, is allowed to be 1 for the prescribed time (9 seconds) from the head of the program or tune and be 0 thereafter.
Thereafter, the head of the tune or program can be quickly searched by rapidly winding or rewinding the magnetic tape and locating the tape portion in which the start identification signal or the SC2 start flag signal is 1.
On the other hand, the method of recording the code signals for quick searching-out has not yet been standardized. In the simplest recording, a user listens to a tune to search out the head of the tune and, then, manually records a code signal for the head of the tune. However, this simple recording technique not only is complicated in operation but also has the drawback that it is impossible for the user to leave the recording device during the recording. Therefore, the efficiency of the recording is low.
Also, a program signal (program number signal) corresponding to early program may be recorded as another one of the sub-code signals. In a conventional device, a program head detection signal, which is the start identification signal, and the program number signal are separately recorded. For that reason, the recording operation is further complicated. Sometimes, one of the signals is recorded but the other is not recorded, so that it is difficult to accurately search out a desired program.